Cover Story
World-number one GM Magnus Carlsen payed a visit to the school. Here, he plays blitz with Justus Williams.
long-time student of GM Sher, while James and Isaac study with GM Alexan- der Stripunsky. Having a large core of A and B players supporting these three made it possible for 318 to dream of an historic coup in Minneapolis. Winning the high school national cham-
pionship is an historic achievement that belongs to all 318’s players, not just the four top scorers who received plaques. But it was the top four who combined to produce the winning score of 20 points. Their names are Justus Williams, Isaac Barayev, Matthew Kluska, James Black.
JUSTUS
Hailing from the South Bronx, Justus became the youngest black master in U.S. history at the age of 12, smashing the pre- vious record by almost three years. At just 13-years-old, Justus’ resume reads like that of an experienced pro. He has repre- sented the United States four times in international competition, and been selected three times as an all-American. He starred on the 2011 U.S. Chess League champion New York Knights, and is featured in the recent documentary, “Brooklyn Castle.” National Championships are not lacking: He won the individual K-6 title in 2010 and shared first in the 2011 Barber tourna- ment for elite junior high players. He might not tell you any of this himself: Justus lets his moves communicate his position in the
20 Chess Life — July 2012
chess world. During games, his demeanor is unusual,
particularly for a middle schooler. He sits motionless, reaching out only to move a piece, and deliberately retreats his arm back toward his body. Several times in Minneapolis I noticed an opponent shak- ing his head, tapping his leg, while Justus sat stoic opposite. During one of these games, 318 Assistant Principal John Galvin speculated that “his pulse never goes over 50 beats a minute.” While other top play- ers demonstratively react to moves or communicate silently with onlookers, Jus- tus’ board manners are perfect. In the junior high school blitz tournament, when an opponent’s flag fell, Justus quietly said “time.” The TDs didn’t hear him. In Minneapolis, Justus was nicked for a
draw in round three by expert Darren Wu, of Washington State. No matter: Surely 61
⁄2 ⁄2
would at least tie for first. Early draws in national events were not unusual for Jus- tus, nor were strong recoveries. He won his next two games to reach 41
at least one 318 likely scorer to be paired up in the last round, Justus’ final game would be a must-win for his team.
Sicilian Defense, Najdorf Variation (B92) Jeevan Karamasetty (2190) Justus Williams (2312) National High School Championship (5), 04.14.2012
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. 0-0 0-0 9. Kh1 Be6 10. f4 exf4 11. Bxf4 Nc6 12. Nd4 d5
/5, within
striking distance of first place. If he were to beat Arizona master Dipro Chakraborty in round six, he would be playing for the indi- vidual national championship in the last round. But it was not to be: Surprised in the opening, Justus later said he had lost the four hour game “pretty much without a fight.” With under an hour before the final round, and the individual championship gone, Justus quietly told me he wasn’t hun- gry and was going to play basketball. With
r+-wq-trk+ +p+-vlpzpp p+n+lsn-+ +-+p+-+- -+-sNPvL-+ +-sN-+-+- PzPP+L+PzP tR-+Q+R+K
After 12. ... d5 Not one of the common moves here,
but Justus has his own ideas and quickly unbalances the game.
13. Nxe6 fxe6 14. Bg4 dxe4 15. Bxe6+ Kh8 16. Qe1 Bb4! 17. Bb3 Qa5!
uschess.org
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